UN experts on Wednesday expressed their disapproval of the acquisition and use by the National Police of the Irish Republic (Gardaí) of so-called “less-lethal” weapons such as “double-strength pepper spray” and tasers for crowd control purposes. Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Gina Romero, and Special Rapporteur on [...]

UN experts on Wednesday condemned the conviction of lawyers and human rights defenders Imaan Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha by the District and Sessions Court in Islamabad, Pakistan. Several independent experts, including the special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Margaret Satterthwaite, and the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, [...]

UN experts raised serious concerns on Tuesday over the criminal prosecution of several students who protested against the research partnerships of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich) with Israel. A group of UN Special Rapporteurs, including Francesca Albanese and other UN independent experts, openly disagreed with the ETH Zurich board’s decision [...]

French farmers drove over 350 tractors in Paris on Tuesday as a sign of protest against low incomes and the EU-Mercosur partnership and trade agreement. The protest was organized by the National Federation of Agricultural Workers’ Unions (FNSEA). The FNSEA organized Tuesday’s protests as a response to the European Council’s greenlight for the signature of [...]

UN officials warned on Monday that the war in Sudan is reaching a deadlier phase as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) gain territories in the Kordofan region. During several briefings at the 10,077th meeting of the UN Security Council, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Khaled Khiari confirmed the alarming humanitarian situation in Sudan as the [...]

The Italian Court of Cassation confirmed on Wednesday the acquittal of Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini in the Open Arms case. Since it was handed down by the court of last instance, the decision is final. It rejects the appeal presented by the Prosecutor’s Office of Palermo, which requested the annulment of the acquittal [...]

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled on Tuesday that Türkiye violated Article 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in refusing to transfer a prisoner to a detention center closer to his family. In the case of Emre v Türkiye, the Strasbourg court found the Turkish authorities [...]

The UN General Assembly on Wednesday voted to demand that Russia return all Ukrainian children deported or forcibly transferred since the start of the war. The resolution was adopted with 91 votes in favor, 12 against, and 57 abstentions, meeting the two-thirds majority required under Article 18 of the UN Charter. The resolution demands that [...]

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled in a landmark case on Tuesday that Poland has an obligation to recognize the same-sex marriage concluded between two citizens in another EU Member State upon their return. The CJEU concluded in the Wojewoda Mazowiecki judgement that failing to recognize the marriage of a same-sex [...]

UNICEF condemned on Tuesday the armed attack on a Government Girls School in the Maga community of Kebbi State in Nigeria, which led to the death of the vice principal and the abduction of 25 students. In a statement, UNICEF urged: “Students, education facilities, and their personnel should be protected under international law from any [...]